The Jackets committed penalties, adding stress to a bare-bones offense that couldn’t handle the added burden.
Pyron himself, who played in place of the injured Haynes King, was a far cry from the form he showed as a freshman in 2022, including a blowout win over Virginia Tech in the same stadium.
Explore Georgia Tech is incompetent on offense, loses to Virginia Tech
In the end, the Jackets left Lane Stadium feeling like they still had a chance to build on the day’s accomplishments after losing 21-6 on the field. Georgia Tech, trailing by 10 points, lost here for the first time since 2012, ending its winning streak at this venue against its longtime ACC Coastal Division rival at four.
“I feel like we put them where we wanted them,” wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. said. “They didn’t score much and our defense was getting a lot of stops. We just have to move the ball down the field and execute in the red zone.”
And even if it doesn’t come close, the same feeling applies to the season as a whole, now three-quarters of the way through. After Key led the Jackets to their first bowl since 2018 with a breakthrough seven wins last year, expectations were high for an even bigger leap forward in his second full season. A semi-upset of then No. 10 Florida State (1-6 as of Saturday night) in the season opener in Dublin added to the excitement.
However, the Jackets are 5-4, one win away from a bowl berth, and have lost two straight. Wins away at North Carolina and at home against Duke are important results, but Georgia Tech also missed opportunities at Syracuse, Louisville and Virginia Tech. To make matters worse, the Jackets’ mistakes had a significant impact on all three, making it even more fulfilling.
After a much-anticipated opening week, the Jackets will need wins against either two top-10 teams (No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Miami) or mid-major North Carolina State to qualify for a bowl game. . A 1-2 record would most likely result in a 6-6 record, which would give Georgia Tech back-to-back bowl game berths for the first time since the 2013-14 season. While it’s an accomplishment, it may not be what the show and its fans were hoping for. It’s debatable how much progress Tech has made with as talented a quarterback as you can hope for in King.
Lessons learned from Georgia Tech’s loss to Virginia Tech
On Saturday, Tech’s defense did more than enough to secure the victory. The Jackets limited Virginia Tech running back Beishul Tuten, who entered the game seventh in the FBS in rushing yards per game (124.4), to 79 yards on 17 carries. He got 41 of them on one carry.
Similar to last week’s loss to Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Georgia Tech’s defense repeatedly held off Virginia Tech in the second half, but the Jackets’ offense came up empty and the Hokies trailed 21-6. tried in vain to extend his lead (established). (4:50 left in the third quarter) and ended the game for good.
The following is noteworthy. Virginia Tech, which held a 14-6 lead at halftime, had nine possessions in the second half. The Hokies took advantage of the short field created by the interception and scored a touchdown, driving 42 yards to take a 21-6 lead.
Virginia Tech gained two first downs on its remaining seven possessions (not including the game-ending knee-down series), punted six times and had a blocked field goal attempt, totaling 27 plays. (This is not a total). Wrong) 13 yards. The Hokies finished the day with a season-low 233 yards of offense. This was the fewest yards gained by an FBS opponent against Georgia Tech since 2014 (Clemson).
Virginia Tech exploited (and likely caused) two broken touchdown drives in the first half that did their damage. Either way, this was a phenomenal play, especially considering the pressure Georgia Tech’s defense faced to keep the team in the game and the fact that they were without top tackler Kyle Efford. Key said the defense played just as well all season. Defensive linemen Romello Hite and Sylvain Yonjuan led the effort with a combined four tackles and two sacks.
“We made the run, we kept the gap, we stopped running the ball, and then we saw it happen,” Yonjuan said of executing the game plan. “They were trying to throw the ball and we were there with the pass rush. So I think everything helped defensively. We just worked together and made it work.”
Key special teams, which has soared in recent weeks, also showed improvement, with kicker Aidan Barr making field goals of 34 and 51 yards in the first half and a career field goal in the second half.
However, the Jackets’ offense under Pyron was only a shadow of its good qualities. Pyron got off to a strong start, completing eight of his first 10 attempts for 69 yards. He struggled even more after that, completing two of his last 12 passes for 7 yards and an interception. Pyron, who was never in the best of health, isn’t the only one to blame.
However, Pyron probably wanted to show what he could do with his temporary starting stint, but he fell short of his goal. It was a missed opportunity for the Pylons, and a disappointing day for a player who showed his loyalty by sticking with Tech after King took over early last season.
“There’s no one who wants to go out there and compete and win and run the offense more than him, and there’s no one who works harder than him to get that done,” Key said of Pyron. Ta. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t move the ball effectively early in the game.”
In his second collegiate appearance and the much longer of the two games, Philo completed 11 of 26 passes for 184 yards and one interception, an unspectacular performance against the Hokies. I couldn’t fully express the making of it.
All is not completely lost yet. The tech industry will be much healthier after Opening Week (including King, perhaps), and Miami is far from invincible. North Carolina State is an opponent the Jackets can beat in their favor. Let’s put Bulldog aside for a moment.
Seven wins, including a takedown in Miami, would make his season prospects even brighter. However, this time of distinguishing seasons is quickly passing away.
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